Extremely Rare Vintage Jewish Zionist 1945 Poster – For Palestine in War as in Peace, Guard Their Health Through Hadassah (WWII Era)
This dramatic World War II–era fundraising poster was issued by Hadassah as part of a coordinated wartime campaign urging American Jews to safeguard the health of the Jewish community in Mandatory Palestine. The bold headline reads: “For Palestine in War as in Peace – Guard Their Health Through Hadassah.” The imagery is striking and cinematic: enemy aircraft sweep across the sky above a burning landscape, explosions flare behind a silhouetted town, and in the foreground a Hadassah First Aid Society ambulance rushes forward—its emblem clearly visible—symbolizing organized medical response amid crisis. The design uses sharp contrasts of red, black, blue, and gray to evoke urgency, danger, and resilience.
This poster belongs to a World War II series that framed medical aid in Palestine as both a wartime necessity and a long-term national mission. During the early 1940s, the Jewish community in Palestine faced the dual reality of global war and British Mandate restrictions. The 1939 White Paper limited Jewish immigration precisely when European Jews were seeking escape. The Middle East itself was under strategic threat, with Axis forces advancing across North Africa and fears of invasion reaching the region. Economic hardship, supply shortages, and political tension formed the background of daily life. In that atmosphere, Hadassah’s hospitals, emergency services, and preventive health programs became pillars of communal stability and preparedness.
Founded in 1912 by Henrietta Szold in New York, Hadassah had already built an extensive medical infrastructure decades before Israeli independence. Hospitals, nursing schools, maternal and child welfare clinics, vaccination campaigns, and rural health units were operating throughout the country. The Hadassah Medical Center on Mount Scopus stood as a symbol of modern Jewish revival grounded in science and humanitarian service. Wartime emergency care, including ambulance and first aid networks, expanded the organization’s role from preventive health to civil defense.
For American Jews committed to Zionism, this poster conveys a powerful message: protecting health was protecting the nation. The phrase “in war as in peace” reinforces continuity—the mission did not pause during crisis. Supporting Hadassah meant standing alongside the Yishuv during one of the most uncertain periods of the 20th century. It reflects how American Jewish philanthropy functioned as active participation in the survival and strengthening of Jewish life in Palestine.
Artistically, the poster reflects mid-century modernist graphic design infused with wartime urgency. The diagonal movement of aircraft, the explosive red accents, and the forward motion of the ambulance create a dynamic sense of action. The visual narrative positions Hadassah as both guardian and responder—prepared in peace, decisive in war.
This is an exceptionally important and emotionally charged artifact for collectors of Zionist art, Jewish American wartime history, and pre-state Israel ephemera. It captures the atmosphere of the early 1940s and the determination to sustain Jewish life under threat while preparing for sovereignty.
Technique, Printer’s Mark and Size: Linocut print. Good condition. Official printer’s stamp at lower margin: “Color Displays Co., N.Y.C.” 60 × 45 cm (approximately 23.6 × 17.7 inches).
